Macrovision Buys Muze

Muze, a company that supplies data information products supporting entertainment products such as music, video, books and games has been acquired by Macrovision for $16.5mm (all cash). Macrovision has been acquiring data companies (notibly TVGuide) and building its data products portfolio to support its business of "connected middleware, media recognition, interactive programming guides, copy protection and rich media, data and metadata on music, games, movies and television programming." From the press release:

Consumers' options are increasing as entertainment becomes digital. They can now enjoy their movies, music or other digital content in more ways, including numerous options online and on portable devices. All of these choices lead to an increased need for enhanced search and discovery capabilities to help consumers find entertainment content that matches their personal preferences. This process is powered by entertainment metadata.

"Macrovision believes that professional entertainment metadata is required for our customers to provide best in class consumer facing products," said Fred Amoroso, President and CEO of Macrovision. "The addition of the Muze assets will complement Macrovision's data solutions. It represents continued execution on our vision of delivering solutions that power a uniquely simple home entertainment experience."

Muze, which has been around since 1991 and is headquartered in NYC, has had a troubled history and was purchased in 2005 by a a private equity company that sought to establish more strategic focus, better cost containment and more professional management. In the years since 2005, Muze has acquired or allied with several companies and purchased the the assets of Loudeye for $11mm in cash in 2006.

In 2005, there was some excitement around the financial prospects for companies like Muze and AMG (another data supplier) and the multiples asked in sales prospectus' were relatively high. While terms were not disclosed on the 2005 Muze sale, some in the industry put the number at north of $30mm.